By Kofi Outlaw

THE UNIT made a so-so return from the limbo of the WGA strike this week, offering up a forgettable episode, (which I in fact forgot to watch for the better part of a week.)

Jonas was the lone soldier in the field, stationed in London where he and an old friend from British Intellegence were tracking a Russian arms dealer suspected of selling enriched uranium to potential terrorists. Every time Jonas and his partner were about to get the drop on the dealer, the Russian managed to slip away. This pattern of close-but-no-cigar led British intelligence to suspect that a mole in the agency had compromised the operation.

Heading up the internal investigation was none other than Charlotte Ryan, Col. Ryan’s former wife and one of the Unit’s biggest nemeses. Charlotte told Jonas that his long time friend was actually the mole, tipping off the Russian each time they moved on him so that the dealer could escape capture. Jonas refused to by it; Charlotte then coerced him to use his friend’s wife (and Jonas’ former lover) to expose his friend’s betrayal. Jonas refused to bite, but the seeds of doubt had already been sewn.

Back stateside, Kim Brown was enjoying the fruits of her labors, as the listening audience for her radio talk show began to swell. When Bob was promoted from Sgt. to Sgt. first class, Kim promised to put work on hold to celebrate with her husband. She would have kept the promise—that is if a distraught army wife didn’t call into the show, threatening to end her life so her daughters could collect the life insurance. At first Bob came crashing through the radio station doors mad as a bull; however, when he learned what Kim was up against, the dynamic duo of Brown and Brown was on the case, trying to locate the caller before she could hurt herself.

In London, Jonas began to suspect the friend he was so adamantly defending might not be as squeaky-clean as he’d thought. Meeting alone with his former lover, Jonas probed her for info, only to learn that she shared many of the same concerns about her husband’s loyalties. When Jonas went to meet his friend at a warehouse, he stepped right into an ambush. Narrowly escaping the attack, Jonas made his play, informing his old lover that her husband’s head was under the guillotine. Out of friendship he offered to let them flee the country, if his friend could deliver both the arms dealer and the buyers on a silver platter. Jonas’ friend agreed to the terms, and set up a meeting with the Russian, who he then gunned down in cold blood, thereby eliminating the only witness to his treasonous acts. When Jonas revealed that he was never going to allow a traitor to escape, his friend pulled a gun on him. A team of snipers surrounding the area shot down the rouge agent before he could shoot Jonas, causing Jonas’ old lover to go into hysterics, revealing that she too had played a role in her husband’s dealings. Jonas lost a friend, a love, yet he remained loyal to his country—the only kind of existence for a soldier.

Back stateside, Kim and Bob managed to track down the suicidal army wife, just in time to save her from overdosing on sleeping pills. Kim reflected on the intoxicating power of being able to save lives, a sentiment quietly echoed by Bob. Meanwhile, Mack and Grey tried to enjoy some R&R by double-dating a pair of blonde bombshells. The date went well enough for Mack, but Grey wasn’t interested. His heart was stuck on Annie, his late buddy Hector’s old girl. In a moment of shared grief Grey and Annie kissed, both of them instantly ridden with guilt about betraying Hector. Mack finally took Grey aside and forced him to realize that Hector was dead, Grey and Annie were alive, and that there was no better way to honor his friend than loving and caring for his girl. With that said, Grey went back to Annie and claimed what his heart desired.

This episode was WAY too soapy for me. The whole thing about love, friendship and loyalty couldn’t have been more obvious if it was hammered over my head. I get the message THE UNIT, however if I wanted to see a bunch of overdone, soap-style drama, I could just wait an extra hour and punish myself with an episode of CAIN. Get back to the guns and espionage, please, it really is what your show does best.